The present invention relates to the rapid positioning of a receiving or transmitting device at the focal point of a convergent reflector.
High gain antennas for microwaves and higher frequency radiation use reflectors having a surface described by the rotation of a conic section having a focus. The usual figure described by a reflector surface is a parabola, but any reflector shape that has a focal point, a point where parallel incoming rays of energy converge, i.e. any convergent reflector, will provide a high gain. The highest quality performance is obtained from the antenna if the receiving or transmitting device is positioned at the focal point of the reflector. For microwaves, this receiving or transmitting device is usually a feedhorn. For a solar energy concentrator, the receiving device could be a thermopile or other thermal energy converter.
Recently high gain reflector antennas have become popular within consumers for receiving television signals relayed to earth by synchronous satellites. The antennas are typically assembled at the point of use. Locating the receiver feedhorn precisely at the focus of the antenna at the time of first installation and from time to time as maintenance is performed can be quite difficult. One positioning method involves use of an expensive signal strength meter monitored by one person who gives instructions to another who adjusts the position of the receiving device to maximize the signal strength. This method is too expensive for home use. Other methods involve straight sticks that are inserted in the reflector or receiving device in order to attempt to align the device and the center of the antenna. While these sticks are cheap, they are also inaccurate and unreliable.